30 March 2025, 14:17 | Updated: 30 March 2025, 15:12
Tonga residents were urged to get to higher ground after the earthquake
Tonga residents were urged to get to higher ground after the earthquake. Picture: Social media/CSEM
A massive earthquake has hit near Tonga, prompting fears of a tsunami for the Pacific island country.
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The US Geological Survey said the 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit about 62 miles north-east of the main island in the early hours of Monday local time. Tonga's time zone is 13 hours ahead of the UK.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued an alert saying hazardous waves could be possible for coasts located within 185 miles of the epicentre. The tsunami warning was later lifted.
Sirens were heard on Tonga and residents headed for upper ground or inland.
No reports of damage were immediately available.
Some 1,000 people reported feeling the tremor.
Read more: Fresh earthquake hits Myanmar, making rescue efforts even harder in war-torn country, as death toll rises again
Read more: ‘It's desperate’: Ex-UK ambassador to Myanmar tells LBC of friend 'trapped' by earthquake, as over 1,000 dead
Tonga is a country in Polynesia made up of 171 islands with a population of a little more than 100,000 people, most of whom live on the main island of Tongatapu.
It is more than 2,000 miles off Australia's east coast. Australia has said there is no risk of it being hit by a tsunami.
Tonga was hit by a tsunami in 2022 after a huge underwater volcano erupted.
Across the Pacific on California's central coast, the National Weather Service reported tsunami waves up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) and flooding in beach parking lots at Port San Luis.
The waves crossed the Pacific, causing fatalities in Peru and minor damage from New Zealand to California. Seven people died overall and the waves caused over $180 million (£139 million) in damage in Tonga.
The Tonga earthquake follows a quake in Myanmar on Friday, which is confirmed to have killed at least 1,700 people and injured over 3,000 more.
The rescue effort is ongoing, complicated by a years-long civil war that continues to rage.